Remember the manuscript, A Kingdom Tale? I think it is time to get it published as part of a Community Builders' Manual!

Here is where we are: As I told many of you when I started the manuscript "A Kingdom Tale" a couple years ago, I don't want to publish the book until I felt the time was right. And, I told you what I meant. I said that we needed to see the seeds we were planting locally to take root and show signs of real growth. Here is what I didn't want to happen; every one comes out with a book these days with all kinds of thoughts, theories and ideas that haven't been tested in the real world. I wanted to make sure we had something that was working and that we were at a point of transferring it. I think we are there.

Ok, fast forward from when I wrote the manuscript, a few years ago, to today. Last winter I felt the time had come to delegate leadership in the key area where we were trying to bring people together, at Kingdom, the Genesis Cluster. Why did we call it 'genesis'? That was because it was our first real effort to build Christians together in a meaningful way in an established mini-community. We all know the problem - believers are not connected and cannot really be effective in working together to extend the Kingdom.

So, I delegated the leadership responsibility in the Genesis Cluster. Immediately, I began having the sense that we weren't on the same page, the leaders and I. I had spent a lot of time talking to people. But I was reluctant to write things down. Why? There are just so many negative things that come from writing down things and passing them around. So, I have been extremely resistant to doing anything except for the simple framework booklets that you may have seen. If you haven't seen them - here is an example: http://j.mp/SacredStandards

You might say, I was forced into putting things down in writing. So, I wrote a simple manual, A Community Builder's Manual, for connecting believers across a community. Bingo! Suddenly the whole group had continuity and real progress could be seen. If you know anything about what the group has focused on, you will understand, we have tried to get down to absolute simplicity. In connecting believers together, we have focused on those things that are true for all believers in all places and in all times and eras. The manual is helping us connect believers together and live out the simplicity of the Kingdom, together.

Here is the big announcement: I decided to publish the manual. Yesterday I got great feedback from Michael Ritter. He suggested that I layer a story across the manual so that the points from the manual could be illustrated in story form. That seems like a good idea to me. I have the story, A Kingdom Tale. So, that means that the manuscript, A Kingdom Tale will finally make it to publication as part of the Community Builder's Manual. Lord willing.

I would LOVE to have more people read the manuscripts and offer their thoughts. I'll be giving credit to those who give input. Thanks for those who have contributed so far plus I'd like some more thoughts, too. I am hoping this book gets good distribution; it is important to do it right!

If you want to participate in this review, do a post on this discussion on Kingdom Insight HERE and I will give you access to Community Builder's Manual and also to the private group for reviewing the final book.

Replies to This Discussion

The other day I was wondering whatever happened with A Kingdom Tale. What you said about everyone writing a book made me think of Eccl. 12 vs 12:

"And further, by these, my son, be admonished of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

So I think it is good that you have been cautious about publication to insure that it is the right thing to do and to do it the right way. You also mentioned the importance of creating unity in your kingdom community. I have pondered for many years what will bring about unity in the Body of Christ before the rapture. Earlier this calendar year I learned about how theonomy(government based upon religious considerations that has the popular consent of the governed) will work in the modern era. Below is from Jon Roland's Draft Amendments to US Constitution:

Power to cancel or suspend economic activity

Congress shall have, and with a treaty with other nations collectively producing more than half of the world's tangible goods, shall exercise, power to do the following for each year evenly divisible by seven, for a shmita period at least three and not more than nine months:

Liquidate or break up all for-profit corporate entities and activities into organizations comprised of not more than 300 individuals and investors;

Regulate emergent behavior that might act in concert like a corporate entity;

Suspend all extraction, including mining planting, harvesting, and fishing, all manufacturing, and all transport beyond 100 kilometers of durable goods, other than those essential for defense, justice and law enforcement, water, power, or medical services;

Forbid the importation of goods subject to the shmita during the shmita period;

Call out militia to enforce the shmita.

If the Jews in the OT had obeyed the Shmita Year it would have brought about national unity. The Jews didn't obey and were exiled from the land for 70 years because of their disobedience. The New Covenant is established upon better promises(Heb. 8 vs 6), so we should be able to obey the Shmita Year which begins on Sept. 24th. Well, I don't think "Power to cancel or suspend economic activity" will become the law of the land this Shmita Year. However, I do think definitive actions will be taken to lead us into that direction. I also think the Shmita Year theme should be incorporated into your kingdom community to help bring about unity.